Alamo Square party spot to close for Bay to Breakers

San Francisco police will shut down part of Alamo Square for Sunday’s Bay to Breakers, reacting to neighborhood complaints of unruly behavior in past years as thousands of beer-swilling spectators and event participants watched runners stream by.

The shutdown will cover the southern portion of the park, overlooking the iconic Painted Ladies homes on Steiner Street.

It’s always been a popular stopping point for participants in the annual race, which draws tens of thousands of runners, walkers and partiers to a 7.46-mile course from downtown to Ocean Beach.

But “the community had a lot of concerns over drinking, urination, defecation and confrontations with people who didn’t have anything to do with the race,” Police Chief Greg Suhr said Tuesday.

The closure, which lasts from Friday to Monday, isn’t the only change for this year’s race. Suhr said law enforcement will be adding 20 percent more officers from agencies around the state to patrol the streets during the 103rd annual event.

It’s all part of an effort to remove some of the “negative spin” around the event and make sure the event goes off in “true San Francisco style,” officials said at a press conference on the steps of City Hall.

“The race is for everybody,” said Mayor Ed Lee. “It’s for elite runners to people who just want to have fun. We’ve experienced years where it wasn’t as safe as it could be.”

Lee said the race should reflect the “kookiness” of San Francisco rather than being a showplace for inebriation.

Last year, a 28-year-old man was seriously injured at a Bay to Breakers house party on Fell Street when he plummeted off the roof of the four-story building. Police said they arrested 21 people on suspicion of public drunkenness and took 16 others into tents to sober up during the race.

Supervisor London Breed urged runners to look out for one another and to not get over the top with drinking. She acknowledged some people would be probably run naked and invited everyone with nice six-pack abs to come out.

Supervisor Katy Tang pointed out that naked runners should make sure to wear sun screen.